In an effort to increase University community involvement and promote discussion, the Honor Committee released an online blog providing a new forum for honor-related discussions yesterday.
According to Vice Chair for Community Relations Josh Hess, the blog is the Committee's latest attempt to facilitate interaction between students, faculty, the Charlottesville community and the Committee.
The blog "will be a great venue to hear criticism and it will give us ways to reflect and change," Hess said.
Previously and currently available forms of community participation, such as involvement in meetings, remain low, Vice Chair for Education Allie Moore said.
"We found ourselves facing criticism for not reaching the community, and people are intimidated to attend Committee meetings," she said.
The Committee is "always trying to keep our community involvement up to par with technology," Moore explained.
According to Hess, the blog will present various issues facing the University's honor system that many people otherwise may not be aware of.
"Honor is frequently a topic of debate, but it tends to focus on only one or two topics," he noted. "There are other significant issues within Honor the University community should be engaged in."
Blogging on the site, however, is not limited to only University students or faculty members, Moore said. Instead, all members of the local community are urged to participate.
The Committee also hopes the blog will facilitate communication between all members of the Committee.
"The blog will make [Committee] policy more horizontal," Hess said. "There is disconnect between support officers, who have the most experience [dealing with Honor cases], and us who make the policy."
Each week the Committee will highlight a topic of interest on the blog, he said, and bloggers are also encouraged to submit issues for debate.
This week's topic is "spotlighting," which concerns the ethnic and racial profile of accused students.
"Minorities are disproportionately reported for Honor offenses compared to their overall percentage," Hess said, noting that the blog will serve as a forum to discuss the issue and as a means of offering feedback for long-term improvements.
According to Moore, the Committee plans to keep the blog running and dynamic.
"We are excited and anxious to hear others' opinions on the blog," she said.
Committee Chair Ben Cooper also expressed similar views to Hess and Moore.
"I think it is part of our job to give the community more measures in terms of feedback," he said. "It also allows us to speak back to the community, providing two-way communication."
Community members interested in viewing the Committee's blog can visit www.uvahonorblog.blogspot.com.
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